Yves Béhar
Yves Béhar is a thinker. And he thinks a lot about the future. This is evident in his projects: from his red laptop for Toshiba to his elegant closed Footprints for Birkenstock and his refined Aliph Jawbone headsets for mobile phones. “I believe the purpose of design is not just to show us the future, but to bring us the future,” he states.
The founder of fuseproject (“dedicated to the emotional experience of brands through storytelling”), Béhar has explored the world of design since his childhood in Switzerland. “In Europe, it is second nature to evaluate objects based on how they work and how they look,” he explains.
Béhar grew up in a bicultural home, influenced by his mother from West Germany and his Turkish father. “One is functional and modernist while the other is expressive and poetic,” he says. “I always try to unite the two in my projects.”
For a relatively young designer, he has a remarkable career. A graduate of the Art Center College of Design, he began working with Silicon Valley technology clients such as Apple and Hewlett Packard, occasionally gravitating toward sports, apparel, technology, and furniture.
One of numerous magazine articles written about Béhar called him the “multidisciplinary designer of our era.” His long list of awards includes the prestigious National Design Award from the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian National Design Museum, where his work is part of the permanent collection.
In 2004, he had two solo exhibitions, one at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, USA, and another at the Musée de Design et d’Arts Appliqués Contemporains in Lausanne, Switzerland.
“When working with clients, my philosophy is to connect emotionally through ideas and content rather than style,” says Béhar. “It’s less about this or that aesthetic and more about relevant conversations where people reach an agreement in terms of approach and direction.”
His collaboration with Herman Miller arose through one of these conversations. An admirer of Charles and Ray Eames, Béhar decided he wanted to do something for the company on his own. “Design is the core of Herman Miller’s culture,” he says. “One day I picked up the phone, called them, and said: ‘let’s work together’.”
Four years later, Herman Miller introduced his two incredibly innovative lighting products, Leaf and Ardea.
Considering the variety of products he works on, it seems Béhar might have difficulty escaping design. “Not at all,” he states. “I have many interests that keep me balanced. For example, I love surfing, windsurfing, and snowboarding. So I also spend a lot of time in nature.”
As for his future, Béhar says he is happy designing products for companies that are “seeking new ideas, change, and transformation. I am always excited to work with people who want to move forward into the future and for the next generation.”
By all indications, this is the man who can lead them.
Office/Studio
fuseproject
San Francisco, California, USA
New York, New York, USA
Award/Recognition
IDEA, Twist (Bronze), Ardea (Silver-eco, Gold-ID), 2010
GOOD Design Award, Ardea and Twist, 2009
Green GOOD Award for Leaf, 2009
Red Dot Design Award for Leaf, 2008/9
Spark Award for Leaf, Silver, 2007/8
ID Magazine Annual Design Competition, 2002/3/4/5/6
IDEA, Business Week Gold, Silver, and Bronze Excellence Award (17), 2001/2/3/4/5